Bowling ball finger patch



United States Patent BOWLING BALL FINGER PATCH Charles F. Mitchell, Akron, Ohio Application November 9, 1951, Serial No.- 255,630

2 Claims. (Cl. 273-63) This invention relates to inserts for finger holes of bowling balls, and, more particularly, is concerned with rubber-like patches to be secured in such finger holes for improving the bowlers grip on and handling of the bowling ball.

It has been proposed heretofore to provide inserts of one type and another for finger and thumb holes in bowling balls to thereby improve the players grip on the ball and 'the throwing of the ball. Such known inserts are open to the objection that they require redrilling of the finger and/or thumb holes of the bowling ball, and usually the inserts have been relatively complicated and expensive. Moreover, some inserts have been of the type resulting in too good a grip on the bowling ball with the result that the bowler cannot let go of the ball in the smooth easy fashion required to make the best possible shot.

It is the general object of my invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other ditficulties of and objections to known bowling ball finger hole inserts by the provision of an improved, relatively inexpensive, easily-installed finger patch which has been found to give just the right amount of control between the bowlers fingers and the ball in order to get the best bowling action.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved patch for bowling ball finger holes, and which can be quickly installed without redrilling the finger holes in the bowling ball.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a finger patch of the type described which can be inexpensively extruded in proper shape, then inexpensively vulcanized in fiat strip form, and thereafter cut into short patches of the desired size and adhesively secured in arcuate form to the finger hole or holes of a bowling ball.

The foregoing objects of my invention, and others which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved by the provision in combination of a bowling ball having inwardly directed finger and thumb holes, and a finger patch of rubber-like material adhesively secured to one or more of the finger holes on the side towards the thumb hole, said patch usually extending arcuately about a third of the way around the finger hole and substantially the full length thereof, the patch having a body portion of uniform thickness ordinarily about one thirty-second of an inch and usually tapering to a feather edge at the top and bottom of the patch, and a plurality of integral ribs on the patch extending transversely of the patch and arcuately of the finger hole, the ribs having a thickness above the patch about equal to the thickness of the body of the patch, except the rib nearest the outer end of the finger hole which usually has a thickness above the patch about equal to twice the thickness of the body of the patch. Preferably the patch is made with a Shore durometer hardness of between about 45 and about 65 to give the best grip between the hand and the ball.

2,708,578 Patented May 17, 1955 'ice For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partially in vertical section, of abowling ball including my improved finger patch, and illustrating a bowlers hand in conjunction with and holding the bowling ball; I

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the finger hole of Fig. l, but without the bowlers finger shown in the hole; 7

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3.-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the finger patch of the invention prior-to insertion thereof into the finger hole of the bowling ball; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the patch of Fig. 4 and illustrating the adhesive patch securing means.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a conventional bowling ball having finger holes 12 therein of conventional type, one of these finger holes being for the thumb, and with the ball having one or two holes 12 to receive the second, or the second and third fingers, respectively of the bowlers hand, indicated by the numeral 14, all in known manner.

Received within one or more of the holes 12 is my improved finger patch, and indicated as a whole by the numeral 16, the finger patch extending substantially the full length of the hole 12 and extending in arcuate position over usually less than about one-half of the circumference of the finger hole, and generally about onethird of the circumference of the finger hole, the finger patch being adhesively secured by material 30, as later described, to the side of the finger hole engaged by the finger or fingers in gripping the ball.

Although it is apparent that the finger patch of my invention can be utilized in all of the finger holes 12, that is, in the holes for the second or for the second and third fingers, and likewise for the thumb, I have found that it is usually most advantageous to employ the finger patches 16 only in the hole or holes 12 for receiving the second or the second and third fingers of the bowlers hand. In other words, I do not recommend employing a finger patch in the finger hole 12 for the thumb, because without the finger patch in the thumb hole, the thumb slides out more smoothly during the release of the ball, but with the finger patches in the holes for the fingers proper giving a grip of exactly the right amount so that the ball can be smoothly controlled, but'not overly controlled in the operation of imparting a highly desirable hook, and in proper amount, to the ball upon release. 5 i

The finger patch 16 includes a base or body portion 20 of uniform thickness, preferably less than about onesixteenth of an inch, and usually closer toone thirtysecond of an inch, with the inner and outer ends of the patch preferably but not necessarily tapering to feather edges 22. The finger patch 16 is made of rubber, or rubber-like material, and of a Shore durometer hardness of between about 40 and about 65. This, I believe, gives the best possible frictionlfor the average player between his hand and the ball.

The finger patch 16 is formed with a plurality of integral ribs 24 extending above the body portion 20 of the patch a distance about equal to the thickness of the body portion. As illustrated in the drawings, the ribs 24, with the patch positioned in the finger hole 12 of the ball, extend circumferentially or arcuately of the inner surface of the finger hole so that these ribs lie at right angles to the finger inserted into the finger hole. Notice that the ribs 24 are substantially half round in cross-sectional contour so that they supply neither too much nor too little friction with the finger or fingers of the bowler.

The rubber or rubber-like material of the finger patch is preferably compounded to include granulated cork or the like to further enhance the proper finger action thereon.

The rib 24 nearest to the outer end of the finger hole 12 extends up from the base or body portion 20 of the finger patch a distance substantially equal to twice the thickness of the body portion, and with a rib width about twice the width of the other ribs 24, and this has been found advisable in the release of the ball in a manner to obtain the proper hook to give just the proper amount of friction between the ball and the bowlers fingers so that the proper amount of control, neither too much nor too little, can be obtained by the average bowler.

An important feature of my invention is that the finger patch 16, as best seen in Pig. 4, does not require expensive male and female cavity molds, but can be inexpensively and continuously extruded in strip form by an extruding machine having a profile type die, the extruded strip being thereafter vulcanized in fiat pans in open steam, which is likewise very inexpensive. There after, individual patches can be cut off of the vulvanized strip and adhesively secured in place in the finger hole or holes of a bowling ball, all without requiring redrilling of the finger holes or reworking thereof in any way. The finger patches of my invention are suificiently thin so that no reworking of the finger holes is required.

Another important feature of my invention is the manner of adhesively securing the finger patch in place. This I accomplish by using a strip of pressure-sensitive adhesive 30 which is sticky on both sides and which is positioned between the patch and the wall of the finger hole and which tightly secures the patch in position. Preferably the adhesive strip 30 comprises a base 31 of paper or fabric coated on both sides with adhesive 2?. This adhesive strip is secured to the base 20 of the patch 16 and has a coated paper 32 over its outer adhesive surface as seen in Fig. 5.

In order to secure the patch in the finger hole, it is only necessary to grip the tab end 33 of the paper 32 and to strip off the paper 32 and to then position the patch in the finger hole in its proper place and to press the patch firmly in position. This entire operation can be performed in several minutes time and the ball is ready for immediate use without any necessity for the adhesive drying over night as has been necessitated in applying finger patches with prior known technics.

means comprises a finger patch of rubber material hava finger hole on the side towards the thumb hole, said While in accord with the patent statutes, I have spe '2') cifically illustrated and described one best known embodiment of my invention, it is to be particularly understood that I am not to be limited thereto or thereby, but that the scope of my invention is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

I. A grip means for use with a bowling ball having inwardly directed finger and thumb holes, which grip patch being of a size to extend less than about a third of the way around the finger hole and substantially the full length of the finger hole, the patch having a body portion of substantially uniform thickness of about of an inch and tapering substantially to a feather edge at the top of the patch, and a plurality of integral uniform thickness adjacent but spaced ribs on the outer half of the patch extending transversely of the patch and arcuately of the finger hole, the ribs having a thickness above the patch about equal to the thickness of the body of the patch, except the rib nearest the outer end of the finger hole, which has a thickness above the patch about equal to twice the thickness of the body of the patch, the remainder of the patch having a smooth surface.

2. A grip means for use with a bowling ball having inwardly directed finger and thumb holes, which grip means comprises a finger patch of resilient material having cork therein and having a Shore durometer hardness of between about 45 and about 65, and an adhesive member including a base with a pressure sensitive adhesive coating on both sides thereof adhesively secured by one coating of the pressure-sensitive adhesive to the patch and being adapted to be secured by the other coating to a finger hole on the side towards the thumb hole, said patch having a width to extend about a third of the way around the finger hole and a length to extend substantially the full length of the finger hole, the patch having a body portion of uniform thickness of about %2 of an inch, and a plurality of uniform thickness ribs on the outer half of the patch extending transversely of the patch and arcuately of the finger hole, the ribs having a thickness above the patch about equal to the thickness of the body of the patch, except the rib nearest the outer end of the finger hole, which has a thickness above the patch about equal to twice the thickness of the body of the patch, the remainder of the patch having a smooth surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 447,011 Harman Feb. 24, l89l 950,838 Cavanagh Mar. l. l9l0 l,02l,490 Scully Mar. 26, l9l2 2,273,199 Hilton et al. Feb. 17, 1942 2,469,268 Jerome May 3. 1949 2,482,190 Kramer Sept. 20, i949 2,583,198 Axton Jan. 22, 1952 2,646,985 Nagy et al. July 28, l953 

